17 comments:

Well, I'm Filofaxed out this week. I was very pleased to pickup a Cross M2 in baby blue for £2.50 on eBay. This will be my handbag diary and wallet. I bought a blue Apex and this is now my tea fax. And the pretty buttercup Piazza is my health fax. Still got the book fax to sort out. My personal deco in amethyst is the mother ship and catch all device. I carry it everywhere simply so I can admire its good looks and keep stroking it!

Considering the fact that we are all paper planner lovers. I would be curious as to how do you use the digital devices that you all have (Blackberry, iPhone, iPad, etc.). Do you still enter appointments / to-do's on your device? Which apps do you use.

For my part, I own an iPhone 3GS and an iPad and I believe I partially figured out a pretty smooth way to combine paper and digital media. (Post on my site about that following soon!)

However, I do have to enter my appointments three times: my planner, our company CMS system and Google Calendar. I would just wish to find a way around that... For me, I'd prefer to have it just in my planner, but unfortunately that's not an option. Aside from the compulsory entry of appointments into the company system, I also can't take my planner everywhere, but the iPhone is always in my pocket. For the Agenda I use Pocket Informant on both iPhone and iPad.

My business to-do's (must) live in our CMS system. Each day I print out a new copy of this list, copy it down to 50 % size and put it into my planner and tick them off from there. My private to-do's live exclusively in my planner.

I keep track of my expenses (Moneybook) and my car's mileage (Google Documents) on the iPhone as it can be shared more easily.And to be honest: my handwriting is pretty much impossible to read by anyone else but me. I do keep the tabs in my planner in case I have to be really quick or if the battery dies on me again.

Rene, I have a BlackBerry Pearl and a Filofax (currently A5). I use the phone for contact book and phone making *only*, and for keeping track of, and occasionally answering, email when I am on business trips. Otherwise, I use the FF for everything - diary, task lists, financial records and general info.

Today I removed over 300 duplicate addresses from my outlook/BlackBerry contact book - the result of 'dodgy' synchronisations between Outlook/BlackBerry/Google contacts and calendar. And people tell me the BlackBerry and outlook are the 'tools for today' while the Filofax is a relic of the 1980s! I know which *I* prefer.....sometimes new isn't always better.

Currently bidding for an A5 Graphic binder (30mm rings!) - if I am successful that will be my needs met for the foreseeable future.

@David: Actually, I hear that quite often, Steve had this too, I think. Luckily I myself have been spared of such problems until now (probably because I can do without Outlook). I do have an occasional double entry in the Google Contacts database, but that's about it.

I use my filofax for planning. I have an iPad and and iPhone, but I hate iCall on them (on my iMac its different, love it on there - colour coding galore!).

I use my iPhone for everything but planning or to do lists. Occassionally when I'm out without Filo, I use my iPhone to jot down dates/to dos when they pop in my head, but that's it. Luckily, I have a job where meetings/appointments are rare. On the other hand, I have a busy personal life, so that's where I need the filofax for.

I write all my appointments in my Filofax, but I also have to put them in my phone with alarms because still not quite used to being "one with the Filo". It's nice to have things laid out on paper though so I can see how busy my week or month is just at a glance.

@Rene: I'm not a big "phone" person. I use my BlackBerry Curve for emails when I'm away from my laptop, and texting. I rarely actually talk on it! My BB bcc's me when I send an email from it, so I always have my 'sent' emails on my laptop.

For appointments, I usually enter them in my BlackBerry when I'm out and about (i.e. rebooking hair, dentist or physio) but I use my FF if I'm at home, then enter it again into BB. I don't often synch my BB to my Outlook calendar on my laptop. I tried using Google calendar which would also update itself on my BB. I just don't have that many appointments that it's crucial to be always synched up. And I didn't have problems with synching, just not that necessary.

My work (freelance/contracts) doesn't have many appointments and I usually confirm them via email or text, so synching my device isn't that big of a deal. I work from my home office.

I mostly use my daily pages in FF (personal Malden) to plan my work load for the day/week and to keep track of what I have done, work wise. Personally, I keep lists, notes and misc info in my FF.

I have an iPhone and iPad as well as my trusty 3 working Filofaxs. I only put key social things in my iPhone calendar because I always have my Filofax with me. I don't use the calendar function at all on the iPad as I don't like how you can't quickly and easily change views.

For work I use the outlook calendar for key meetings where I invite people or need reminders to turn up but everything is in my A5 Filofax so that's the book I carry everywhere when I'm at work!

The dream would be to have the digital devices that also synced with the paper planner in my Filofax so things were just added remotely but I could still use it the same as I do now (if you see what I mean) until magic computer/writing paper appears though no chance of that

Please help me, I'm having a dilemma!! After using a pocket filofax in 2007 and giving up because it was just too darn small, I am now in the market for another filofax but I can't decide between Personal or A5.

I have already purchased the Personal Finsbury in Aqua but now that I see the size of the diary pages I am thinking will they be too small? The main use for my filo will be to plan my wedding for next year. I am thinking an A5 will be great for putting notes and magazine clippings in but will it be too big for carrying round venue/stores etc?

Amanda - Have you tried personal size with a different kind of insert, like the page per day or 2 pages per day (depending on your need). Which personal inserts are you using now? I have used the week on two pages and moved up to 2 pages per day for the extra space. I can't get a whole year's worth of pages in my Filo, but it has helped a great deal. I find that A5 is too big to carry around. Good luck and congratulations!

Hi kanalt, thanks for your reply and congrats :) At the moment I'm using a week on 2 pages as I like the idea of seeing what's happening for the whole week. You now have me thinking though that if 2 days per page fits ok then I could give that a whirl. I also like the idea of it not being too heavy. I think I'll just stick with the Personal. Thanks for your help! :)

@Rene: I spent years (about a decade) using electronics exclusively for agenda/planning/diary, etc. I quit that about two years ago. Now the only functions that stay electronic are my contacts and my shared calendars for work. I do still copy the calendars to my paper planner, though. Mostly my iPhone functions as an entertainment device: music, movies, web browsing, etc.

This is planner related, but not Filofax (please don't hurt me :) Anyone know where you can get quality leather binders for A6 size with 6 rings, that takes 3 5/16" x 6 5/8" paper? I used to use Time/System and sometimes used the compact size. I love the inserts/calendar for the T/S compact, but couldn't live with 3/4" rings - much prefer the binders and 7/8" ring size of filofax though 1" would be even better, but I long for the T/S inserts. It's a sad life always only having half of the solution :)

@David - I was sure you had settled on a personal size Filofax, did I miss something. (I am obsessed with Filofax sizes at the moment)!

@Rene - I use a pocket for my take out diary. I am currently setting up a work one (will be either A4 or A5 page a day) for daily planning (I work from home so page size can take precedence over weight issues). I have an iPhone which I use for calls, checking emails when out, and contacts. It syncs with outlook and I don't seem to have any duplication errors (been using this set up for about 3 years). Also use phone for a small amount of entertainment when away (music, couple of games and books). Also Internet when on move as required.

I have recently bought an iPad2. Am just starting to use it. I do not plan to do planning or emails on it. So far it s purely for entertainment. Would be interested in what others use iPad for.

Amanda, I'm always struggling between Personal and A5 too. Personal is the biggest size I can stand to carry in my bag everywhere with me, but the pages are too small to use as a diary. (I end up using a bound book as my diary). The A5 pages are a great size for a diary and anything else (especially printing and adding in pages) but the book is big.

That said, in my opinion I think you should get an A5. You won't be carrying it with you everywhere you go, just to your wedding planning meetings and shopping. And for wedding planning you'd be using some kind of binder or folio anyway, so it might as well be a Filofax! ;D

@plaiditude: I'm sure your question will be welcome here. I keep rambling about my Succes organizer and so far haven't been yelled at. ;-) Those guys made me feel right at home! Thanks again for that, by the way! Pitily enough I won't be able to help you myself. But I am confident somebody here will have an answer to your question.

@Louloudorset: Your idea sounds like sync heaven to me. Hope it becomes reality. A thing that will look like paper, feel like paper, but would be connected to the cloud and sync back and forth. As you enter an appointment into your computer, it will magically appear in your own handwriting on the planner. We will have to wait for that I while I guess...

@stirwise: same goes for me. Started out with the Newton, then a short period of Palm, then Psion, then Palm again, then a plethora of smartphones. Still am a Tech nerd, but a turn of the tide is clearly recognizeable.

@Alison: I couldn't put up with having several paper planners, I admire you for being able to do that. I would loose all overview. The Pocket would be too small for me to use as my main planner.

About iPad use, I still have the original iPad and I use it for checking and replying to my mail, surfing the web, Twitter, Evernote, read my news, check out traffic, access our company system on the go, manage my finances, check out the weather, listen to Radio streams / music, blog, watch movies, read books and to Skype. The odd game thrown in for good measure. I also use it to store my pictures when I am out and about with my DSLR.